WEST CHESTER - Chester County officials intend to include a mixture of both religious and secular items in its holiday display at the county's Historic Courthouse in West Chester, but not the controversial "Tree of Knowledge."

"There most likely will be a crèche," said Commissioner Terence Farrell in an interview in the commissioners' office Tuesday. "There most likely will be a Menorah."

Along with those symbols of Christian and Jewish holidays that are celebrated this month - Chanukah begins today, and Christmas 24 days away - Farrell said there would also be a Santa Claus, some reindeer, a train carrying toys, and the traditional lighted holiday tree. Perhaps even a sleigh.

But after discussions with the county Solicitor's Office as well as outside counsel, the county's administrative staff reviewing the matter elected not to include the "Tree of Knowledge" that the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia, an organization representing atheists and agnostics, had offered to donate for the lawn display, he confirmed.

Advertisement

"I think that the (U.S.) Supreme Court cases have indicated that the 'Tree of Knowledge' is not necessarily part of a traditional holiday display," said Farrell. "Our desire is not to go into uncharted waters."

Farrell said arrangements had not yet been made to purchase or acquire the religious items that he said are foreseen for the courthouse display, but that the more secular pieces were already being assembled on the courthouse lawn. On Saturday, the 30-foot holiday tree the county acquired from the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce was erected, and Monday saw the installation of a lighted toy train.

The only obstacle is where to find the display items at a low cost by the beginning of the holiday season in downtown West Chester Friday, he said, adding there would also be a county-designed wreath set up to honor U.S. servicemen and their families, an idea that he proposed late last month when the commissioners voted 2-1 to take control of the lawn displays.

He said the cost of purchasing the various items would be less than $3,000 total so that the county would not have to go through the process of putting the items out for bid. Farrell also said the county would not be averse to working out an arrangement with local groups to acquire the religious symbols at the same $1 cost as the holiday tree from the chamber.

"It's very difficult to go on eBay and get a used Menorah," Farrell said. "If a crèche became available at the same purchase price as the tree we would avail ourselves of that offer. But we will see what offers come our way."

The news was met with dismay by the leader of the Freethought Society.

"We are very disappointed that the commissioners did not take a lead position in welcoming a minority viewpoint to participate in a celebration," said Margaret Downey, the Birmingham resident who has battled the county on religious fronts in previous years. "I think they could have sent a message of harmony, rather than alienation."

But former Commissioner Colin Hanna, whose Pennsylvania Pastor's Network had sponsored the earlier crèches that have appeared in the past five years, pronounced himself satisfied with the decision.

"I think that is great news," he said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C., where he was attending a retreat for his conservative political action group, Let Freedom Ring. "I was hopeful that was where things would wind up, and I hope they are able to put that plan into effect by Friday, when Old Fashioned Christmas starts."

Last month, the county voted to take over control of the holiday displays. In 2009, there had been some complaints voiced concerning the Freethought Society's tree, and those who sponsored the crèche asked that it be moved from close proximity to the so-called "Godless Holiday Tree."

Farrell said the plan for this year's display that had been developed by the county's administrative staff was designed to conform to case law concerning such matters, and to avoid any legal challenge that could present itself. "That is the hope," he said.

"The Supreme Court guidelines are that we can put up a holiday display and include both religious and secular items, so long as the religious items do not overshadow the secular ones," Farrell said. "As long as everything is in the holiday tradition."

In addition to working with the county's own solicitors, W. Evelyn Walker, the county's chief management officer, said she had spoken with Louis B. Kupperman, a partner with the Philadelphia law firm of Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel.

The court decision that bears most heavily on the county's pans is the case of County of Allegheny vs. the ACLU. In that 1989 case, then-Justice Harry Blackmun ruled that the two separate displays set up at the Allegheny Courthouse and the Pittsburgh City Hall did not meet constitutional standards.

Allegheny County officials had erected a crèche inside its building that was much larger and more prominent than a Menorah and Christmas tree set up outside the city building. To pass constitutional muster, the displays would have to be side-by-side and of equal or comparable size. Or else they would have the effect of endorsing a particular religious view in violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause.

Farrell said the size of the county's display would conform to those requirements.

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, the board's lone Democrat, had voted against the new policy, saying that the county should accept all displays or none. On Tuesday, she said she felt the same way.

"I think we should either allow for everyone, or no one," she said. "I think the policy we had in the past was perfectly acceptable." She also decried the fact that the county would spend money on the displays when budgetary concerns are at a peak.

Downey, contacted after Farrell spoke with the Daily Local News, said she was dismayed that the commissioners had not reached out to meet with her group, or to inform her that the county would not display their tree.

"We are very disappointed to learn this from a journalist rather than being included in any type of communications with the commissioners. We haven't been contacted by their staff or invited to any meetings. And they did not solicit us for any input."

Where the religious symbols will come from is still uncertain.

Hanna said his organization had sponsored the crèche display in the past, but that it did not actually own the model itself. Instead, a Birmingham couple had donated it to the organization, which in turn gave it to a local church so that it would be covered under the church's insurance policy, as was dictated by the county.

He said he understood the couple had spoken with county officials about selling the crèche, but that he did not know what arrangements had been made. The couple, Fred and Helene Eissler, could not be reached Tuesday.

Critics of the county's new policy have blamed Hanna for pressuring the county to do away with the old system under which private organizations were allowed to apply for space on the lawn for their own displays. He denied that Tuesday.

"There is absolutely no truth to that," Hanna said. "Colin Hanna and the Pennsylvania Pastors' Network felt the past practice had worked reasonably well, and we were prepared to jump through those hoops again. We were absolutely not the initiating force in the new plan."

Rabbi Yossi Kaplan, head of the Chabad Lubavitch of Chester County, which had erected a Menorah on the courthouse lawn beginning in 2005, could not be reached for comment. Last month, he cautioned the commissioners not to adopt the new policy of refraining from accepting private displays.

Downey said her group was planning a rally to protest the county's decision declining the display of its tree on Saturday afternoon. Then, members of the group would appear with copies of the book covers that had made up the decorations displayed in previous years to form "a living tree," she said. Beyond that, she said she would pay particular attention to how the county's display is presented.